This invention relates generally to the field of food and beverage coolers for motorized golf carts.
Golf cart coolers in the past have been utilized to keep beverages and other perishable items cool and to provide a storage area for these items. Since golfing is a summer sport, players are often subjected to very hot weather conditions and they desire fluids and snacks to help maintain their strength during play. However, golf carts typically do not have any means for storing items in a thermally insulated environment.
An example of a cooler that was invented for a golf cart is U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,767 to Vernon D. Buschbom. This patent describes a cooler designed for a golf cart. The cooler is meant to be portable and attaches either to the inner front of the cart""s body within the passenger compartment or the outer front face of the cart. It is described as a hard body cooler with a rigid mounting member for attaching to the cart""s body. The top of the cooler is attached to the back sidewall of the cooler using a rigid hinge member and screws. The bottom of the cooler is fitted with a rubber cushion member to prevent damaging the cart. The cooler is affixed to the inside front of the passenger compartment, being secured into this position using a floor mounting plate. Alternatively, the cooler may be attached to the outside front face of the cart""s body using either a rigid hook, screws or bolts.
There are several key disadvantages of the cooler described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,767 to Vernon D. Buschbom. Since the cooler is a hard body structure it is not easy to store or transport. The cooler cannot be rolled or folded up, therefore, it cannot be stored in a player""s golf bag and also takes up a significant amount of room in a player""s car. The cooler described in this patent is not convenient to store and transport. In addition, the cooler is described as having a rigid mounting hook system. This hook system is not flexible to hook onto any cart in the market. If the body of the cart does not lend itself to allow the hook to attach, the cooler cannot be attached without securing it to the golf cart using screws or bolts. Therefore, the cooler is not versatile to allow a player to connect it to any cart temporarily for a round of golf and then disconnect it and take it home.
Another example of a cooler used in a golf cart is the POWER CART SPORTS COOLER that is currently being sold in the United States by SPORTS COOLERS UNLIMITED. This cooler is designed to fit inside of the golf cart""s sweater rack between the passenger seating compartment and the golf bag storage area. The cooler is made out of soft panel construction with a zipper sealing three edges of the top to the side panels. It is clear in the advertisement of this product that the cooler is specifically designed to be positioned within the sweater rack of the cart and that it has no means to allow it to be attached to the front of the cart.
There are several key disadvantages of the type of cooler described in the SPORTS COOLER UNLIMITED advertisement. The first disadvantage is that the cooler is only designed to be positioned within the sweater rack. Typically, this rack is utilized to store jackets, sweaters, club head covers, hats and other items. If a player uses this cooler, he or she loses the storage space provided by the sweater rack to store other items. It would also be difficult to access the cooler from outside of the cart when golf bags are stored in the golf bag storage department with the bags secured to the bag rack attached to the sweater rack. The golf clubs in the bags are much taller than the top of the cooler, restricting access to the cooler from the outside of the cart. It would also be difficult to unzip the zipper on the top of the cooler that is closest to the golf bags from either within or outside of the cart since the zipper and bags are in close proximity to each other. The access to the cooler would be further hindered if the cart had a rearwardly extending golf bag canopy rain cover that is very popular on golf carts. The canopy rain cover would extend over the cooler even when the rain cover is retracted to allow access to the golf clubs. Another disadvantage to this design is that the cooler is limited in size by the inside dimensions of the sweater rack. If one cooler is used for four to six players having several golf carts, there is not adequate space within the cooler to store enough beverages and sandwiches to provide for all of the players.
Another cooler design that has been patented in the United States is Design Patent No. 293,551. This design patent describes a design for a cooler that is to be sewn or otherwise permanently mounted to the side of a golf bag. As can be clearly determined by the figures in this patent, this cooler has a distinct shape and contour, and is not designed to be mounted on a golf cart.
Therefore, a portable, easily transportable golf cart cooler that can be mounted to a golf cart in an area that does not reduce the storage room of the cart and is easily secured onto the cart is desired.
The present invention provides a golf cart cooler that is portable and easy to mount to the front of almost any golf car. The cooler provides additional storage space to the cart for storing beverages, snacks and other perishable items in a thermally insulated container. The cooler is made from a soft body construction making it easy to fold up, transport and store.
It is to be understood that both the preceding summary and the following detailed description are intended to be exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide a further explanation of the invention claimed. The invention will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) to provide a golf cart cooler that mounts to the front of a golf cart providing additional storage room for beverages and perishable foods;
(b) to provide a golf cart cooler that is robust and durable;
(c) to provide a golf cart cooler with plenty of storage capacity that does not take up existing space within the golf cart;
(d) to provide a golf cart cooler that can be quickly and easily mounted to the front of a golf cart;
(e) to provide a golf cart cooler that can be easily accessed from within or outside of the cart;
(f) to provide a golf cart cooler that is esthetically pleasing and is mounted in front of the cart where an advertisement can be displayed on the front, top and sides of the cooler; and
(g) to provide a golf cart cooler that is made from a soft body construction making it easy to fold up, transport and store.